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Newsposted: June 16, 2010 Prairie Voices Announces New Director and Audition DatesPrairie Voices is very excited to welcome Nathan Poole to the position of Artistic Director! Nathan has over 14 years of directing experience with various ensembles in Winnipeg. His fast paced, energetic style and commitment to dynamic choral music is a perfect fit with our ensemble, and we're all excited to see where this new chapter of PV will lead. With the appointment of our new director, we are also able to confirm audition dates for our 2010/2011 season. Auditions will be held: Singers may request a 20-min audition slot on any one of these dates by emailing info@prairievoices.ca Auditionees will be required to bring the following:
Be prepared to sing your voice part on the syllable “doo”. The other parts will be sung with you in a quartet. If you are unsure of you voice part, please chose the line that feels most comfortable for you to sing.
We are looking for experienced, youthful, passionate individuals who love to sing. If you are interested in singing with our award-winning community choir, please join us for our auditions! For more information, please visit www.prairievoices.ca/. posted: May 12, 2010 Spring Greetings from the President of ACCCDebra Cairns As I write this message in the early days of May, I am excited about the opportunities and events that lie imminently ahead! The national biennial conference of ACCC, Podium, will occur in Saskatoon May 20-23. A broad array of interest sessions, workshops and concerts has been organized in what promises to be a very invigorating time of professional development, advocacy and connecting with choral practitioners, singers, composers, choral industry people from across the country. We will also hear the National Youth Choir (in which four young singers from your province are performing) in concert, and will hear the première of the ACCC Choral Composition Competition winning pieces. Volume 5 of the Recommended Canadian Choral Repertoire series (which includes works by composers from your province or region) will be launched, and the National Choral Awards (for which some people from your province or region have been nominated) will be presented at a gala banquet. I hope to see you at Podium! Stay tuned for the dates and location of the next Podium, occurring in May 2014, and plan to be there to be a part of the excitement! ACCC’s National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs is concluding its highly successful first presentation of this important choral tradition formerly run by CBC. Entries were submitted from choirs across the country, jurors from regions throughout Canada reviewed all applications in the semi-final round in March, and a national jury recently met to determine the winners in each category for the final round of the competition. Results will be announced at a gala awards banquet at Podium, and CBC will broadcast these announcements during Choral Concert (CBC Radio 2) on Sunday, May 23, 9am. I encourage all choirs to consider entering the next competition, and to begin preparations for it over the coming summer months. It is a wonderful learning experience for singers and conductors, and a wonderful opportunity to connect chorally across the country. Membership in ACCC includes individual choral practitioners (conductors, composers, teachers, singers, choral advocates and enthusiasts), choirs (as a member of your provincial choral organization you automatically become a member of ACCC), students, industry and institutions. We continue to explore ways of broadening our service and value to all categories of membership and so are working on new initiatives and projects to engage, nurture, promote and celebrate the choral communities across Canada. Stay ‘tuned’, and please visit our website (www.choralcanada.org) regularly for current information, resources and services. This message is my last as President of ACCC. It has been an honour to serve you these past two years. I wish you continued joys and rewards in your music making. Sincerely, Debra Cairns President, ACCC posted: May 3, 2010 Former MCA President, Ruth Wiwichar Receives AwardAbove & Beyond Awards for the Arts The Manitoba Foundation for the Arts was established in 1995 with the mandate to promote, support and advance the arts in the province by planning, coordinating and supporting the celebration and recognition of the arts in Manitoba through, among other activities, the bi annual, Above & Beyond Awards for the Arts. A reception was hosted at Government House on Sunday May 2nd by the Lieutenant Governor, The Honourable Phillip S. Lee, where recipients were presented with their awards. THE LEE CAMERON ARTS IN EDUCATION AWARD Sponsor: The Richardson Foundation ($5,000)
A Manitoba artist, teacher or volunteer, or organization that has made an extraordinary contribution to arts in education and the advancement of curriculum through the arts RUTH WIWCHAR has enjoyed a varied career as a music educator in the fields of Elementary Music education and Choral Music. A graduate of Brandon University, Hamelin University (St. Paul, MN) and Memphis State University, Ruth has worked with students in kindergarten through grade twelve, and has been privileged to teach a variety of courses at the University of Manitoba for over twenty-five years. Ruth as Artistic Director of the Pembina Trails Voices currently has over three hundred and fifty children actively engaged as singers and performers. For over thirty-five years Ruth has led choirs to high standards of achievement. From youth choirs at Westworth United Church, to a four hundred voice choir at the opening ceremonies of the Pan-American Games, from boys choirs at St. John’s- Ravenscourt School, to ensembles at St. Avila school and to countless youth across Manitoba, Ruth has directed with joy and created magical moments, inspiring others to become and remain in the arts. Ruth has been honoured by being recognized as “Most Outstanding Conductor” at the Young Prague Festival in 2006 and by receiving the inaugural “Morna-June Morrow Award for excellence in education in Manitoba”. posted: May 3, 2010 Winnipeg Welcomes Largest National Choral Festival in 20 Years!May 21 to 24, 2010 Knox United Church, 400 Edmonton Street, Winnipeg MB
On May 21 – 24, the Rainbow Harmony Project will welcome nearly 500 choral singers from across Canada to the 2010 Unison Canadian Choral Festival, at Knox United Church, 400 Edmonton Street. First time in Winnipeg, Unison 2010 marks the fourth festival of choruses consisting of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, two spirit and straight (but happy) singers from across Canada. Like the Olympics, the festivals occur every four years alternating with the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA) in the USA. At the previous festivals in Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver, participants and audiences from all walks of life descended upon the respective cities and were overwhelmed by the talent and pure joy of the Festival. “We expect no less here in Winnipeg”, notes committee chair, Ray Desautels. “Our participants will be featured in concert, trained at workshops and treated to a traditional Manitoba Social and a gala banquet with keynote speaker Manitoba’s own Heather Bishop”. In the spirit of celebrating diversity, the Festival kicks off with an opening night concert on Friday, May 21 at 8:00 p.m. Featured is Winnipeg’s own Rainbow Harmony Project along with seasoned song and dance man, designer and director, Edward Ledson and high school biology teacher/massage therapist/ singer/songwriter, Deborah Romeyn. Five extraordinary honourees will be recognized that evening for their pioneering efforts towards the advancement of human rights in Canada:
On Saturday, May 22 and Sunday, May 23, 14 choruses from British Columbia to Nova Scotia will perform during 30 minute concert blocks. Closing Exercises on Monday, May 24, at 11:00 a.m. will feature the Soprano/Alto, Tenor/Bass and Mixed Unison Festival Choruses conducted by Marg Stubington (Ottawa), Spencer Duncanson (Winnipeg) and Scott Leithead (Edmonton). Tickets are $15.00 for each concert and each of the 3 concert blocks and are available at the door. Opening night concert tickets are also available at The Happy Cooker, Kustom Kulture, McNally Robinson Booksellers, Rainbow Resource Centre, online at www.KwikTix.ca and from members of Rainbow Harmony Project. Please visit www.unisonfestival.ca for further information and detailed schedules. -30- For interviews, please contact Vic Hooper at (204) 775-9224 or email
posted: April 19, 2010 Antiphony to Perform at Carnegie HallBy Anna Wiebe How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice…but having internet sleuths as friends doesn’t hurt either. This June, the members of Antiphony, a Winnipeg based vocal ensemble, will journey to New York City to participate in the premiere of composer Eric Whitacre’s concert version of his opera Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings at Carnegie Hall. The singers were accepted to perform after submitting an online audition recording in December of last year. The opportunity was sourced out by one of the members who discovered the call for choirs through the website of concert organizers, Distinguished Concerts International New York. Whitacre was looking internationally for choral groups that would be brought together as one choir especially for the performance. As it currently stands, Antiphony is one of the few Canadian choirs participating. They will join the ranks of other singers from around the world at a two-day residency with the composer, who will also conduct the concert on Tuesday, June 15 in the famous Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall. A veritable idol in the choral world, Eric Whitacre is one of the most critically acclaimed and performed composers of his generation; he wrote Paradise Lost as an electronic opera that first premiered in Pasadena, California in August 2009. The opportunity to sing with him represents a great achievement in musical and choral excellence for Antiphony, an ensemble that first came together in the autumn of 2008. For concert listings and more information visit www.antiphony.ca.
posted: April 16, 2010 Sweet Adelines International Region Six Singing CompetitionMay 21 -23, 2010 Winnipeg Convention Centre Singers from North Dakota,South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Iowa, North Western Ont.,and Man.will participate in the Competition. The Quartet Competition begins Friday evening at 7:00 PM. There will be approximately seven hundred singers in the competition. Come and enjoy the vibrant costuming, choreography, and a cappella singing, four part harmony, Barbershop Style. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster. posted: April 1, 2010 Podium 2010 in SaskatoonMay 20 -23, 2010 For more information read SCF E-Notes or visit the Podium Website posted: Dec 8, 2009 Experience the Harmony at Podium 2010!May 20 - 24, 2010 Delta Bessborough, Saskatoon, SK Join renowned choral conductors, music directors, composers, choirs and leading industry representa- tives to experience the Canadian Choral Scene. posted: Nov 6, 2009 Fall Greetings from the President of ACCCDebra Cairns I am delighted to share with you an exciting new project of ACCC—the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs! This past June CBC announced that it was stepping down from administering the popular biennial CBC National Radio Competition for Amateur Choirs. Alarmed at this announcement, recognizing its profound value for the Canadian choral community, and wanting to ensure that there be a continuance of a national competition to serve, promote and honour our choral musicians, I am pleased to announce that ACCC has taken it over and is working in collaboration with and support of the Canada Council for the Arts/Conseil des Arts du Canada and CBC/Radio-Canada to present the 2010 competition, newly-named as the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs. The application guidelines and procedures, competition categories, adjudication levels remain fundamentally the same. Minor adjustments to prizes and some aspects of running the competition have been made in order to accommodate financial considerations resulting from taking on such a significant project more than half way through its normal organizational and financial cycle. The deadline for submission of applications is midnight February 12, 2010. I encourage you to be an important part of the continuance of this outstanding choral tradition! Please visit our website (www.choralcanada.org) for further information and to download the application forms. I look forward to hearing your choir in the competition! Did you know that there are an estimated 38,000 choristers, conductors, composers and choral industry people who are members of their provincial and national choral organizations? No doubt there are several more choral practitioners who are not yet members of their provincial and national choral organizations, thus making the overall number of people involved in choral music making in Canada impressively large. Over the next five years, your Association of Canadian Choral Communities (ACCC) will be conducting a choral census in order to determine more precisely the number of people involved in the choral art in Canada. Our national biennial conference, Podium 2010. Experience the Harmony, is being held May 20-23, 2010 in Saskatoon. It promises a broad array of interest sessions and concerts by outstanding national and international choral practitioners and ensembles. I look forward to seeing you there! Please consider submitting nominations for the national awards for outstanding contributions to the Canadian choral community (choral publication, choral work, choral recording, innovative sponsorship, choral event, distinguished service, student essay [new]) to be awarded at Podium 2010. Further information about guidelines and deadlines can be found on our website www.choralcanada.org. Consider serving on the Board of ACCC by allowing your name to stand or nominating someone else for the position of President Elect. Let your voice be heard! For further information please visit our website www.choralcanada.org. We hope you are enjoying our monthly e-newsletter, Choral Bytes. Through it we are working towards connecting the vast Canadian choral community by providing national and international news and events, links and information which may be of interest to and helpful for you. In collaboration with your provincial choral organization, we are your voice for celebrating, serving and promoting choral music in Canada! Best wishes for rewarding music making in the months ahead! Sincerely, Debra Cairns posted: Aug 5, 2009 New Concert Choir at the University of ManitobaCo-directed by: Ed and Millie Hildebrand Starting Sept 16, 2009 - Wednesdays from 5:30 - 7:30pm The Marcel A. Desautels Faculty of Music is pleased to invite students, faculty and community members to take their place in the all-new University Concert Choir! The choir will be co-directed by long-standing music educators Ed and Millie Hildebrand, known throughout the province for their extensive involvement in promoting and developing music for all ages. The choir will rehearse on campus on Wednesdays from 5:30 - 7:30pm, starting Sept. 16, 2009. Contact Ed and Millie by eMail posted: April 27, 2009 National Youth ChoirA biennial project of the Association of Canadian Choral Communities
National Youth Choir 2010 will take place in Saskatchewan (in conjunction with Podium 2010), 8-23 May 2010. This acclaimed youth choir, consisting of a quartet of singers from every province in Canada, will gather for a week-long residency with guest conductor Dr. Victoria Meredith of the University of Western Ontario before embarking on a tour of the province of Saskatchewan, culminating in a gala final performance at Podium 2010 in Saskatoon. If you are between the ages of 18 and 25 as of May 2010, you could be part of the NationalYout Choir. All travel, accommodation and meal costs will be covered by the NYC organizing committee. Audition and tuition fees may apply. For more information (in Manitoba) contact: Robert Neufeld, Exeutive Director of MCA Sep 22, 2008 Together at Lastfrom: The Manitoba Music Educator (MMEA) This fall heralds a new chapter for a united Manitoba Music Educators Association all provincial music groups have joined together to create one voice. The Manitoba Orff Chapter, Manitoba Classroom Guitar Association, Manitoba Choral Association and the Manitoba Band Association have united with the MMEA to make all of us stronger. The first advocacy letter to the government was sent in January by our new president regarding the new physical education credit requirements and its possible impact to music programs. In June, our president and two board members met with the Minister of Education to establish open dialogue. We are United to make one song that can ring out across the province and our nation. As one group we can develop and implement stronger advocacy statements and take greater action. Now is the time for collaborations not only during meetings but also at concert time. We’ve changed formats this issue to allow four mailings to allow for mailings to all our members. Look for our next newsletter at the end of October Aug 15, 2008 A Message from the President of the Association of Canadian Choral Communities (ACCC)It is with pleasure that I write this message to let you know about the exciting things that are happening with your Canadian choral organization, ACCC. Formerly known as the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors, the general membership voted in May to change the name to the Association of Canadian Choral Communities. This name change better reflects the direction in which we are heading to become a stronger voice for choral music across Canada and to expand our mandate to serve not only conductors, but all those involved in creating choral music in Canada: singers, composers, educators, publishers, businesses and institutions, audience members, supporters of the choral art. We are also in the process of restructuring our Board to be more effective in serving the Canadian choral community. The general memberships is voting on this over the summer and we expect that by September our new Board structure will be in place. Throughout this process we have been working closely with each Provincial Choral Organization and are delighted that the PCO Executive Directors will be part of the new Board, Also in progress is the creation of a new logo, updating and expanding the website (www.choralcanada.org), and increasing our communication with and services to the Canadian choral community. This is an exciting time of transition and growth. For those of you who are already ACCC members, we hope that this news is as exciting to you as it is to us! For those of you who may not be an ACCC member, I invite you to visit our website to learn more about us. Amongst other things, our membership benefits include receiving our magazine "Anacrusis" (articles of choral interest, CD and music reviews, advertising, and more!),Canadian Choral Repertoire books (4 volumes now available for purchase), and ACCC Membership Directory, all of which complement the offerings of your Provincial Choral Organization. Did you know that there are currently some 38,000 people in Canada who are involved in a choir that belongs to a provincial choral federation, or who have an individual membership in ACCC? We are indeed a large, diverse and vibrant Canadian Choral Community! I wish you continued fulfillment in your choral pursuits this upcoming season, and I look forward to serving you and hearing from you on choral matters. Sincerely, Debra Cairns President, ACCC email |
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NoteworthyNoteworthy is MCA's Newsletter. Read the latest choral news about Manitoba choirs, directors, concerts and much more... |
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Manitoba Choral Association
5-276 Marion Street
Winnipeg MB R2H 0T7
ph: (204) 942-6037
fax: (204) 947-3105
e-mail